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Louisiana Derby to get major upgradeHorseracing Betting Lines08/11/2009 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Louisiana Derby is being given a purse increase and an extended distance for next year's running. Fair Grounds Race Course announced Tuesday that its major Kentucky Derby prep race will also be conducted just five weeks before the Run for the Roses. The Louisiana Derby will have its value boosted from $600,000 to $750,000 and the distance will now be 1 1/8 miles, instead of 1 1/16 miles. The stakes for three-year-old Kentucky Derby hopefuls in the past was held seven weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby. It will be run in 2010 on March 27. "We're excited about being the premier racing venue for our nation's best three-year olds when preparing for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks." said Fair Grounds vice president and general manager Eric Halstrom in a release. The Louisiana Derby is part of a three race series for three-year-olds at the Fair Grounds who are being pointed to the Run for the Roses. The other stakes events are the Lecomte and Risen Star Stakes. For 2010 the Lecomte will be held on January 23 and the Risen Star will be run on February 20. The Lecomte will have a distance of a mile and 40-yards and the Risen Star will be contested over 1 1/16 miles. The $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks for three-year-old fillies will Friday, March 26. The Fair Grounds 2009-10 meet will be held from November 6 to March 28. "Our racing staff is embarking on a new historic direction for the entire stakes schedule," Halstrom said in the release. In an effort to bring the two leading thoroughbreds together, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, the Fair Grounds has created a stakes race for fillies and mares to be run six weeks after the Breeders' Cup. The new race will be on the track's main dirt track at 1 1/8 miles. "Horse racing fans desire to see Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta race against one another, and we're no different," Halstrom said. "By positioning this new race six weeks after the Breeders' Cup World Championships and three weeks after Churchill Downs' Clark and Falls City Handicaps, it gives all parties involved something to consider and opens the door for further discussions. Anything further at this point would be premature and circumstances could be different in four months, but this new race gives us an option to dream." The yet unnamed race is slated for December 19 of this year with a tentative purse of $100,000. The purse would be increased if the race attracts Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.
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Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards on Tuesday signed free-agent forward/center Fabricio Oberto. The 6-foot-10 Oberto averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 54 games for San Antonio last season. He was dealt to
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Blackburn, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blackburn has been given the green light to complete the signing of Nikola Kalinic after the Croatia striker was granted a work permit. The 21-year-old has accepted a four-year contract with
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it. He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games. "Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote. He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games. Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk. Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible. Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines. Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy. With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season. Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas). And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.) The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors. While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger. Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under. One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it. Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami. What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5. That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well. MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple. "The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money. "At the end of the day, we liked the home team." So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams. In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish. MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover. The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing. Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed. MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash. To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game. Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta. "Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed." To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. |
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